the show tweets and it's clear that it's coming from the show. but any tweet that comes from @lawrence is actually me. >> what's your most recent tweet. >> i have no memory of it, because like you, i remember nothing. how's that for a book title plug? thank you very, very much for joining us. the book is "i remember nothing." that's tonight's "last word." please go to -- countdown is up next. which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? disorder in the house. democrats revolt as leadership tries to turn a vote on an amendment to increase the estate tax into a vote on the entire tax compromise. not that any of it necessarily matters. >> i'm trying to run out the clock. >> he wants to read aloud the

1,429 pages of the omnibus bill so nothing gets passed, especially snot the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. full of republican earmarks the republicans are now condemning. >> i'll fight as hard as i can. and my republican colleagues who hate to vote for them but love to get them. >> the don't ask, don't tell votes are there. but the vote itself may not happen in time. >> we cannot let the clock be used as an excuse or people's desire to get home. >> the report to the president on afghanistan. everything's leaving here fine. >> thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians on the ground, we are on track to achieve our goals. >> are we buying that when 60% of the country tells a new poll this war is not worth fighting? >> old timer's day. what would jesus do about unemployment insurance. he'd cut it, says bill o'.

kevin spacey stars as casino jack, jack abramoff. >> this is agent patterson. >> i have to call you back. mr. president. >> then there's the part where he learned abramoff does impressions of clinton and reagan and al pacino. all the news and commentary now on "countdown." >> i'm the super lobbyist. good evening from new york. this is thursday, december 16th, 691 days until the 2012 presidential election. breaking news at this hour. senate majority leader harry reid just polled the omnibus spending bill that would have funded the government for the next calendar year. this leaves the government technically speaking without any funding. reid said nine republicans,

complaining about earmarks, some marked by republicans, that reneged on their commitments to support that omnibus. the house on the road to ramming through a trillion dollars in tax cuts that our kids will have to pay for. democrats battling republicans, battling democrats. in the final days of the 111th congress. we begin with $858 billion in tax cuts expected to pass the house tonight. debate beginning hours after how house leadership would give progressive democrats their opportunity to open the bill and force the new version back to the senate. originally pelosi planned to bring two versions to the floor. the one passeded by the senate the and another with a higher estate tax. progressives wanted to vote the for a higher estate tax without going on record for the bush tax cuts for the wealthy as well. pelosi predicting the vote would come tonight. house members hoping to leave before the snow in washington gets any worse.

no metaphor meant there. it means snow, literally. unlike the senate, voting after a report in today's washington post made public how much was included in the bill for special interest tax cuts, $55 billion. $55 billion in tax breaks for mom and pop businesses. like nascar raceways and shell oil. shell, one big energy company benefitting from a $600 billion tax credit the on ethanol. a credit the government accountability office said has done little to boost usage. nascar getting over $200 million in tax breaks over two years. microsoft and other compies picking up $6 billion in tax credits for doing r&d in the united states. let's turn to msnbc contributor ezra klein. good evening. >> good evening. >> let's start with the mr.ess in the house as opposed to the mess in the senate. >> they were going back and forth on rules.

they're fighting over the estate tax fix. it's very important to realize how cramped a debate this is. what the democrats want is an estate tax with a $3.5 million exemption. what the republicans want is 5 million. if nobody does anything, the estate tax that comes in is 1 million. that would raise 700,000. what the democrats want is closer to what the republicans want than what would happen if we did nothing. there is a lot of sound and fury in the house over a deal that isn't that different. over an amendment that wouldn't change the house that much. what's going on now is a debate over rules. originally, we'll have a rule in which you had to vote on the amendment. if you voted for the amendment qualify then the tax bill was passed. first you could vote on the amendment and then the tax deal separately. >> what's the big deal on sending this back to the senate?

>> if they bring it down a little bit, the likely outcome is that the senate won't accept it. the republicans will do a filibuster and say we cut a deal with the president and we're not going to stands with this. the tea party doesn't like this deal. palin and romney are attacking the deal. it could blow up the whole bill. nobody could pass anything. and we could go into the new year when boehner takes over and they have to renegotiate. >> you mentioned the tea party dismissal of that deal. did progressives just decide we don't want to carry the blame for taxes going on up on the 1st of january? >> the two sides don't like the deal but don't like it for different reason. the tea party says there's too much in horrible things like unemployment insurance in the bill.

to some degree, deficit spending. they were fine with the bush tax cuts for the rich. it's unemployment insurance and payroll tax cut which helps middle class families. those are the things that they don't like. what split them is that eventually the democrats said, we're going to change this in a way we like. changing it in a way they like, bringing down the estate tax is that the tea party, for reasons that baffle me a little bit. something the tea party doesn't like. now you're seeing those two moving back to their respective corners again. >> ezra klein, thank you. >> thank you. >> of course, even if house members manage to get out of washington, that still leaves an entire congressional chamber, the u.s. senate capable of shutting down the government. government funding exercise saturday at midnight. they got two house on bills to freeze the spending. democrats were threatening to go with the other, called the omnibus, that wraps up the various agency spending bills the senate failed to pass this

year, into one mega $1.1 trillion bill, including $8 billion in earmarks. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, possibly taking note of tea party anger over his compromise with the party on tax cuts and unemployment insurance is offering a shorter freeze to lock in spending through february, when the new republican house could draft a new spending bill without all those earmarks. 42 of which mcconnell himself inserted into the about ill. since he was for the bill before he was against it. total cost, $113 million. john thune equally outraged. explaining his 28 earmarks worth 39 million to the national journal. quoting him. those were projects that were voted. those were projects that we -- i mean, i support those projects. but i don't support this bill. john mccain called on the carpet by economist magazine. the magazine pointed out they

provide funding for valuable things like protecting life stock from disease. one anonymous house republican telling rollcall, they will find a way around their self-imposed earmark bill. build a better rat trap. you just get smarter rats. senator reid thought that republicans would fall in line. coming out to defend president obama. reminding the senate the without this bill being passed -- >> the constitution we have doesn't have a lot of information in it. what is in it tlunz runs this country. i am convinced i do not want to give up more power to the white house. whether it's george bush or barack obama. i'm going to fight as hard as i can against president obama on

these earmarks and my republican colleagues who hate to vote for them but love to get them. >> this before air tonight. mr. reid blinked, as we told you earlier. said he wouldcconnell on a temporary spending extension. joining us now, howard fine man, senior political editor of the huffington post. the continuing resolution they'll work on essentially means the new congress, the republican house and almost republican senate get to write the 2011 budget. is that correct? what are the implications? >> that is correct. the main headline is that the tea party's in control, at least for now in the senate. what happened here is that they took down the bill with all the earmarks in it. harry reid can wave the copy of the constitution. mitch mcconnell can defend him or not defend him. because the republican leadership was blind-sided by

tea party anger about the tax bill, they were determined to get out ahead of this. mitch mcconnell who could have cut a deal with harry reid couldn't deliver the votes this time. reid said the nine republicans who promised to vote in a way which allowed that omnibus bill which contained the democrats' priorities for this year's spending, they had to pull it because they couldn't get the votes. all the talk about readings the bill on the floor is all out the window now. the tea party won this round. >> there were two options for mr. reid. he could have gone along with the temporary measure and handed this off to the 2011 senate and congress or said, there's no support. you're going to blink. we're not going to blink. we're going to let you shut it this down. don't democrats normally benefit from shutdowns? wasn't that turning the point against gingrich? >> it was the turning point against gingrich 15 years ago.

i don't think democrats are as confident as back then. i think they worried they wouldn't necessarily win the ball game. although, it's got to be said that the reason why all this stuff is jammed up at the end like this, the reason why it's so dramatic and controversial right now, after the election, is that the republicans slow-walked all these spending bills. they threatened to completely slow-walk them so that the only altittive, which post election with the rise of the tea party they should the down. what the argument is going to be is how long to extend that continuing resolution for? democrats could have tried. i don't think they were confident they'd win the confrontation. >> i think you're right about confidence. i think they're less confident they can find their offices without assistance. back in the house. what was all this over the symbolic votes to register

protests? if they could hold things up for that, why couldn't they block the entire bill? >> they couldn't really hold things up for that. i mean, they couldn't really hold up the whole bill. the numbers weren't there. the pressure from the president was stisht ufficiently great. i don't think it was possible. all they're asking for is the opportunity to properly express their anger and dismay. they weren't sure they could win a confrontation over shutting down the government. they know they can't win a confrontation that results in everybody's taxes going up on january 1. they don't have the stop for it i don't think. in the end, they'll agree late tonight to pass that bill. >> you want to express anger and dismay, you've got to show on this network, you don't get a job in the house or the senate. i mean, there's a different place you to do that. do something while you're elected to the house of representatives. >> that's true. >> is this an unusual historical

point for us at this stalemate in the senate and house? >> i think it's typical of the way things are going to be. the processes of the congress have fallen apart. we've talked about the filibuster, it's more than that. bills that used to be considered in a regular order -- that's a wonderful phrase -- there is no regular order anymore. everything is shoved into a partisan confrontation. i think it will be more that way with the tea party. i'm struck by the fact that the tea party era had has sort of begun on the senate side. and the dynamic all along is going to be mitch mcconnell and his leadership structure trying to keep ahead of and control of and trying to not get thrown you off by the tea party movement. >> government not doing anything. howard fineman, thank you.

don't ask, don't tell will be repealed unless the couple the because a triplet. it's don't ask, don't tell, don't vote next. 3q (vet) i love working with animals, but my allergies put me in a fog. so now, i'm claritin clear! claritin works great on all my allergies like dust, mold, pollen, or pets without making me drowsy, cause i want to be alert around this big guy. live claritin clear. indoors and out. don't want to deal with a lot of flibbity-flab or mumbo-jumbo. sounds like you need to name your price. no gobbledy-gook? never. do i still get all the dagnabbit coverage i need? sure. we give you a quote and you can adjust your price up and down to find something that works for you. ♪ this thing is okey-mcsmokey skiddly-doo.

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bad ironic news for the repeal of don't ask, don't it tell. it has the votes to pass the president's relees port released. we're on track to chaech our goals in vietnam, i mean, afghanistan. a bunch you may you barely remember reassemble to spout their nonsense. and kevin spacey as mr. abramoff.

now that the house overwhelming pass aid stand-alone repeal of don't ask, don't tell, the senate got more than 60 votes in support of the appeal. the end of our grown government's blatant discrimination and federally mandated lying on that score is near. but only if certain senate republicans are unsuccessful at running ow out the clock. at first blush it looks good. it may not get slowed down by the mammoth authorization bill you and proceeds to the senate. meaning it has to get through one cloture vote, not two. four gop senators said they would support that. that makes enough to overcome the filibuster. tonight, word that harry reid will file for cloture on don't ask, don't tell and the dream act. meaning votes for both could come as early as saturday.

dream act not expected to get through the house. joe lieberman called on reid to give a repeal on dadt over the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. >> we can't allow the clock to be used or people's desire to get home -- i know everybody wants to get home for christmas. most everybody works the day before christmas. if we stay till thursday, that gives plenty of time to do the repeal on don't ask, don't tell and maybe the s.t.a.r.t. treaty as well. >> senator jim demint wants to run out the clock on the bill. >> we were going to make them read the bill. they decided they didn't want to do that. they gave me an agreement to run out a whole day. i'm trying to run out the clock on this bad legislation before the reinforcements get here in january.

>> let's turn to congressman barney frank in massachusetts. that's for your time. the good news part of this. is there depend upon it hope this could get done this year? >> absolutely. joe lieberman deserves a lot of credit. joe said if we were to send over don't ask, don't tell separately that he believed he could get through both the procedure hurdles and get enough votes. we did that. we did it to be cooperative. for one of the rare examples of good cooperation. we got 25 more votes -- 35 more votes for it this time than we did last time. the momentum is on our side. senator reid filed cloture tonight. the vote will be saturday. the republicans had been hiding behind the argument we had to do

the tax bill and the funding of the government. those will be out of the way. i am confident now you that we have it. speaker pelosi and hoyer made it clear we were not prepared to pass the rest of the defense bill until the senate move for cloture. the way is clear for both to happen. you quoted jim demint. of all the phony republican arguments, one of the phoneiest is, we shouldn't be doing this if a lame duck session. if you believe that, then impeaching the president of the united states is unimportant. the republicans did that in the lame duck session of 1998. >> of course, imyou u peaching the president in 1998 was unimportant. i'm sure he doesn't feel that way. >> we have the votes for don't ask, don't tell. some of the republicans were trying to hide behind it. some were legitimate. we think there were 63 senators, more than four that said they were going to volt for te. all but one democrat had had committed.

i want to give credit to nancy pelosi and steny hower, working with joe lieberman. they said, if you give it to us in this form, it will be easier. there's a dance going on. once the senate passes cloture, then i will be very supportive of the rest of the defense authorization bill. but i think we are overwhelmingly likely to see the end of this terrible distraction. the notion is -- it's really odd. you have brave young men and women. they can be shot at and see their best friends blown up. but the sight of a lesbian would disarrange them and freak them out. i think they underestimate these young people. the distraction is the policy, not getting rid of it. the distraction is the military people who are serving and have to look over their shoulders. it's the money thrown out.

we'll end the distraction of it had it bigoted policy. >> when the house passed its repeal yesterday, the white house put out a statement that applauded that. >> i will tell you i was a little disappointed. you know, i have to tell you, on the monday after the election, i spoke to the white house, the chief of the staff, to it senators reid, durbin and schumer, we've got to get this done. there were a number of good things to do. you sometimes can't get them all done. the president -- his energy after the election was very much there. he also i think was ready to say -- he had been defending this in court. presidents are supposed to defend laws. he and i had spoken. if it had been filibustered or still is, i believe he has no obligation to defend it in court.

an overwhelming majority of the senate votes it and the majority don't want it, i think he's made that clear. >> do you expect that to happen -- let's put those two unlikely possibilities together. that there is some stall that works in the senate. do you think that the president will do that in short order? >> yes, he will drop had his defense. the argument have been, you're the defense. you have this obligation. i think that's generally right. we don't want the presidents picking and choosing what they defend in court. this will have lost its legitimacy. it won't a case people can argue overturning the will of the public. but i am confident and i give the president credit. joe lieberman and harry reid and great leadership from steny hoyer and nancy pelosi. i am overwhelming confident we will get rid of this. >> representative barney frachk, thanks for your time. everything is going fine in

afghanistan. the withdrawal starting next july might be a withdrawal that doesn't start until 2014. other than that, it's an excellent report the president revealed today.

on this date in 1961 was born a visionary who had everything but time. dead two months after his 32nd birthday. his work defined by his conclusion. that the work is defined like a ride at an amusement park. the bill hicks clip of the week. >> it's just a ride.

we can change it any time we want. it's only a choice. no effort, no snob job, mow money. the eyes of fear want you to buy bigger guns and lock your doors. >> on what would have been bill hicks' 49th birthday. let's play "oddball." to the internet. oddball's continuing coverage of people breaking stuff. after getting through the first two boards with ease, he moves to the round dlft house. he leaps up. but he didn't get that fancy belt by giving up so he tries it again. down goes board man. i think he invented a new branch of martial art. los angeles, california.

this is it tonight for larry king. the end of his tenure on cnn. kathmandu, nepal. when c-span intrude him in 1982, his radio career had been going for a quarter century and his tv career would not begin for another four years. >> never said i wanted to be a fireman, policeman. my mother would tell me at 5, 6-year-old, i wanted to be on the radio. to be doing it 25 years in television, it's still a kick. >> they didn't have radio when you were 5 years old. larry king, who has been a friend and supporter for more than a decade and delight in every second he is a spoof will

be missed by cnn when they figure out it wasn't the host who was the problem, it was a feature interview show at 9:00. the afghanistan report about what it says or doesn't say about the rapid withdrawal and when it starts next july. that boulder is like your insurance deductible. big, always hanging over your head. but, vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance takes $100 off your deductible every year you're a safe driver, until... amazing ! you saved me ! oh it was just an analogy. but you're welcome, you're welcome. ♪ nationwide is on your side that's very good. it's more than just the last day of the year. it's the last day you can switch your medicare part d plan. we just switched ourselves and we're happy we did. what i wanted was simple: the most value for my dollar. so, now that it's time...

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according to the washington post/abc news poll, a record 60% of americans believe the war in afghanistan is, quote, not worth fighting. in our third story, as public opinion as backdrop, the president presented an optimistic view. that optimism is not shared by the nation's intelligence community nor the head of the afghan government who told general petraeus at the moment he happens to like the taliban better than america. a year ago at west point, the president announced his new strategy for afghanistan. today, the update. accordingly to president obama, we are making significant process in achieving our core goal, disrupting, dismantling and defeating al qaeda.

>> today al qaeda's senior leadership in the border region of afghanistan and pakistan is under more pressure at any point since they fled afghanistan nine years ago. >> according to the president, the taliban's momentum has been reverseded in much of the country. he said that is fragile. mr. karzai told ambassador eikenberry. he had three main enemies, the taliban, the u.s. and the international community. he said if i had to choose sides today, i'd choose the taliban. back to our president today. >> we will continue to help strengthen pakistani's capacity to root out terrorists. nevertheless, progress does not come fast enough. we will continue to insist to pakistani leaders that terrorist

safe havens within their borders must be dealt with. >> two national intelligence estimates leaked by congress filled in what the president left blank on afghanistan. "the new york times" saying, although there have been gains for the united states and nato in the war, the unwillingness of pakistan to shut down terrorist sanctions remains a problem. they plant bombs and fight american troops and return to pakistan to rest and for supplies. let's turn to eugene robinson, author of the new book "disintegration, the splintering of black america." according to your newspaper, president karzai is an increasingly unwilling partner. the president says we're on

track to achieve our goals. one of these three things doesn't belong here. which is it? >> my interpretation is that we're on track to achieve our goals. the track runs in a circle basically. we're not getting anywhere. you know, the white house says, those nie estimates are out of date. that doesn't reflect the situation right now. the assessment released today basically says the same thing. it's not as frank about karzai, but it is just as frank about pakistan and those sanctuaries for al qaeda on the other side of the border. how are we going to fix that? we're going to have greater cooperation. we're going to have another session of the u.s./afghanistan/pakistan trilateral dialogue. i'm sure that's going to do it, that trilateral dialogue. how does this policy get us to

where the president says we have to get. >> i have a strong sense of deja vu. i remember sitting with you in october 2009, hearing basically this same thing. i'm wondering if the presumption is from the polling that 60% say the war is not fighting. internal is because people don't view the threat from afghanistan here. is that because people don't see any progress, don't see anything other than the circular track you talked about? >> people don't see anything other than the circular track. i think people realize, for example, that in terms of attempted attacks on the u.s. interests or european interests, those really seem to be coming from al qaeda in the arabia peninsula. the yemen-based franchise of al qaeda.

clearly those people have more range of motion, more opportunity to do these sorts of things than al qaeda classic, which is presumably in the cave than afghanistan. people recognize what's actual happening. >> mr. gates was asked about the pace and the scope of the drawdown beginning next july and essentially he punted. for anybody who was expecting troops home soon, how should they view the white house report today? is 2014 the next july? are they have going to meet the next july start point, but it's only one service man for month? what's happening? >> it might be two or three per month. i think clearly 2014 is the new 2011 in terms of potential withdrawal. now, if you talk to the folks in the white house, they say we're serious with 2014. that's when we hand it over afghans.

for 2011, next summer, what was to be the beginning of the next serious drawdown, you're told it will be the beginning of a drawdown. probably not very fast at first. probably not very many. i kind of doubt actually that we're going to see really a significant number of our troops come home next summer. >> politically that's going to bite somebody independent back side again too. >> i think it is. i think people are going to be upset. >> the guy who runs that restaurant we were at. gene robinson, thank you. lou dobbs compares the passage of any legislation in any lame duck session of congress to a coup d'etat. it's out and he's nominated for a golden blown for his portrayal for the ultimate washington conman, jack abramoff. and rachel talks about

senator amy cloebisher.

you thought he was in jail. he and nancy pelosi call them terrorists. jack abramoff, lobbyist, con man and celebrity impersonator? q (vet) i love working with animals,

but my allergies put me in a fog. so now, i'm claritin clear! claritin works great on all my allergies like dust, mold, pollen, or pets without making me drowsy, cause i want to be alert around this big guy. live claritin clear. indoors and out. kevin spacey on his new film in which he portrays jack abramoff. it's time for "worst person's

day." lou dobbs is lingering along in radio obscure ity. he does not like the lame duck session. insult to every american that this congress would even think of take up substantive legislation without hearings. driving it through a lame duck it session to subvert the will of the people. that's what this is. this is lame duck session. being run not much differently than if there were a coup d'etat of our government. he was there when the guys behind the french'sa third republic knocked off napoleon in 1870. the runner-up, rush limbaugh. maybe the real terrorists that we face are on capitol hill. who's doing as good a job as running this country.

you know why you don't hear a lot from or about limbaugh anymore? because he's gone crazy. one too many cherry blow pops. our winner is -- is bill o'reilly still talking? his most recent quote, entitled, keep christ in unemployment. this comes a time when compassion can cause sdpafrlt. if you open your home to scores of homeless folks, you will not have a home for long. there is a capacity problem for every noble intent. there are millions of americans who are not responsible. the cold truth is that the rest of us you cannot afford to support them. congressmen like mcdermott don't support them. for them, the baby jesus wants to provide, no matter the circumstance. being a christian, i know that while jesus promoted charity at the highest level, he was not self destructive. the lord helps those who help themselves, does he not?

>> i don't know, pal. because the phrase the lord helps those who helps themselves is not in the bible. which is one o'reilly has to assume he is getting his rant. here are two things independent bible. luke 14:12. when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind and you will be blessed. because they cannot repay you. you will be repaid at the resurrection of the justice. on a more personal note, judges 15:16. sampson said, with the jaw bone of an ass heaps of heaps with the jaw of an ass have i slain a thousand men. bill "jaw bone ass" o'reilly, today's worst person in the world. financial independence?

who knew that jack abramoff at the center of the case of the most improprietiy since watergate, that went to the bush white house and led to quick convictions, you probably didn't know the other abramoff, with a song in his heart. he did impressions. they made a movie about him "casino jack." he joins me in a moment. he wind and dined lawmakers and gave them campaign contributions. courting them on behalf of native american casinos, his biggest classic. served 3 1/2 years in prison for fraud.

the abramoff dealings led to conviction of lawmakers and businessmen, including bush white house budget official and former congressman bob nay, who is now you studying meditation with buddhists in india. abramoff finished a stint at a kosher peets radio a ria in baltimore. i was able to get some of his expert in marketing. it was very helpful. that ability to charm and his drive to succeed permiates through kevin space's portrayal in "casino jack." some people say abramoff moves too fast. if that's the difference between me and my family having a good life and using the subway every day, then so be it. i will not allow my you family to be slaves. i will not allow the world i touch to be vanilla.

>> joining me now, as promised, the star of "casino jack kp ." >> i like your opening but tom delay, part of the scandal ended up on "dancing with the stars." and ended up convicted in texas. >> he had that beaming smile and ad campaign. >> thanks for having me. >> you went to prison to see abramoff and research firsthand. >> yes. our sadly departed director, passed away last month unexpectedly. george had met with abramoff four times. i decided i didn't want to look at any of the research. i wanted to meet the man. we went to maryland cumberland federal prison and spent a lot of time with the man himself. it was a really unique opportunity. first of all, to meet him in that circumstance. probably not the best place he wanted to meet people. other than the fact i think he was bitterly disappointed it wasn't george clooney playing him, we had a really frank, very open conversation.

i was more interested in the emotional terrain of what he was going through, rather than the case itself. i knew i could vet the people and find out what was factual. i could see when he was at the top of his game why he was as successful as he was. he's very passionate and charming. believed in republican principles. a faithful man, dedicated to his family and religion. charming, funny, impressionist, as you mentioned. and i do impressions in the movie, as he did. everyone talked about how he -- it no one ever reported about that. he used to sit at signatures restaurant, his restaurant in d.c. and hold court and be being ronald reagan and dolph lund gren. in the movie, i do those people. i have to admit i've expanded his repertoire. he never did bill clinton.

then again, i've never done a dolph lundgren. >> there's so much to talk about. that is one of the most delightful, unknown facts that i've had in my experience, particularly in this subject since i fought out that the late walter matthew told me he did a series of impressions of sports broadcasters. hey proceeded to do them for me at a dinner. >> and do them well? >> no. they were versions of a walter matthew impression. >> and he's on the starting line. >> this is vin scully at dodgers stadium. what do you think? did he do the impressions for you? was he any good? >> he was very good. lots of people talked about it. in the if im, i film, i do a number of them, including sylvester stallone in "rocky." we've made a movie that we hope is funny.

but we also are trying to make some political points about the hippocracy of -- i mean, look, this is a guy who he made some really bad judgments and he's paid for that. at the end of the day, he was part of a culture and part of an environment that quite frankly is still going on. the idea that we threw this bad guy in prison and look how we cleaned up the industry. i think we had an election that proved that's not the truth. >> certainly the staffing of the elected people off k street suggest there are several other jack abramoffs, maybe not as good at it, waiting to be found. about you playing factual characters including bobby darin, the is the reverse likely to happen with abramoff, we'll find ourselves liking him? >> we went to d.c. if there was one screening i wish george had been at, i wish

it had been at the d.c. skroeng. we found the audience laughing at things 15 seconds before any other audience because they saw you it coming. there's something fascinating about looking at somebody who has been so vilified in the press. how do you make that person into a full you human being? that's what i love about the acting profession. it's a very humanizing experience. when you have to put yourself in their shoes, they didn't set out to do evil. it's probably interesting to play for ten seconds. >> but rare in real life. >> you're trying to look at circumstances and what the decision-making was. what did he think he was doing? on a lot of other levels, in addition to things he got in trouble for, i couldn't find any evidence that he had a fabulous swiss chalet and had a jet and living high on the hog. you look at that money and say what was he doing with it.

i think he was trying to do good things and justify some of the other stuff he was doing. >> mr. abramoff. another political figure? >> pat moynahan. what a great figure. probably a great story too. there's been a book that just came out. someone like thamp that. watching from a distance as i do now from england, i'm sure you've had schmoes about about it. she ran on the constitution. she was a constitutionalist. then it turned out she hadn't actually read the document. it made you long for the day when people who ran for public service believed in what they're doing and know what they're doing and why they're doing it. i think what this film talks about is how money invades our political system. >> expertise is a wonderful thing to have if it you're